President of the Republic of South Sudan
Your Excellency,
On July 16, you delivered a keynote address for the opening of the National Legislative Assembly, and when the text of your address became available, I read it with keen interest. It was a striking paragraph that calls on the holdout opposition groups to embrace peace. “To the holdout groups, I extend my hand for peace once more. The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by continued rejection of dialogue… The opposition forces that are for peace must be welcomed and immediately integrated so that we have one national army.”
Your words were thoughtful and nationalistic, and several opposition leaders I talked to believe that they come from your usual spring of love and peace and that they were genuine and are deserving of careful reflection and a genuine response. It is also public knowledge that your conviction is not to return or perpetuate war, and we share in this conviction grounded on a strong desire to see the people of South Sudan freed from the burdens of war and political exclusion. We are also prepared to participate in the process of national healing.
Your Excellency, on the path to this, a significant gap remains: the lack of structure. A call for peace, no matter how well-intentioned, ought to be rooted in a clear process. It requires a framework that facilitates engagement, inclusion, and effective follow-up. Without such an established framework, those willing to embrace peace will always find themselves stranded due to the absence of contact, coordination, and reliable pathways for joining the peace wagon.
The peace process managed in Kenya was discriminatory, as the mediators only sought guidance from Pagan Amum and Lual Dau, who were themselves not interested in the participation of other opposition groups. We do not want another process controlled by Pagan and Lual, as we are aware of their character. They prioritize their welfare over the collective peace. During the talks at the Ole Sereni and Glee hotels, they displayed a harmful kind of greed, one that is metastatic, by excluding other opposition groups from participating. They hold the preemptive belief that the government positions, allocated through the peace process under the responsibility-sharing protocol, should exclusively belong to them.
It is also important to bring to your attention that this time, do differentiate between the opposition groups that are genuinely committed to peace and those that are trying to exploit opposition for personal ambition.
The term “holdout groups” has for long been used to inaccurately group a lot of factions with completely different motives. Take note that some opposition groups seek peace only if it secures them the presidency or elite positions.
Other factions, including ours, are not interested in violent regime change or bargaining for power that replaces the presidency with the National Leadership Council (NLC). Our aim has consistently been national transformation through peaceful mechanisms and not personal gain at the expense of the citizens.
Regrettably, Hon. Pa’gan Amum Okiech has consistently undermined our collective goal. A clear example of this was how he acted during the TUMAINI Initiative. He tactfully blocked other leaders like Gen. Thomas Cirillo Swaka and other credible participants who had engaged in the Rome Process in good faith. He then installed a politically compliant group that serves merely as a rubber stamp for his presidential ambitions and then went on to blackmail the mediators with theatrical confidence, saying, “Equatorians are already with us here, and other groups, if invited, their group will walk out.”
The case of South Sudan is not merely an issue of tribal representation. It is about the authenticity of our cause and national interest. This time, it is important to ensure that all South Sudanese, regardless of their ethnicity or geographical locations, who are committed to reform and peace have the opportunity to participate in shaping the future of our country. I bring this point to your attention because Pa’gan Amum has overshadowed the opposition, but his interest is personal, a quest for power. When the pursuit of power becomes the only reason for engagement, it asphyxiates hope.
Your Excellency, for this genuine call to achieve its intended impact, it is vital to establish a functional and impartial peace coordination mechanism. This mechanism would be the one to facilitate direct engagement with willing opposition groups. It ought to be free from intermediaries that would act as gatekeepers and who are hoping for their palms to be greased with Peace’s donor funds. The terms of reference for the to-be-established mechanism should underscore that the peace process must prioritize the nation as a whole rather than individual interests.
We are prepared and ready to embrace and advance the country’s pursuit of peace. We will not act like those whose ambition is premised on a quest for titles and who are only interested if the process enhances their legacies or at least rewards them with a free hand to loot the country. The need now is to open the door by establishing a clear path that allows for peace to be achieved, which would allow for normalcy to return to the country, and so that the nation-building agenda to be effected by all. Comfort in foreign cities should end.
We need a solid framework that will usher in the needed reconciliation. This demands genuine commitment. We embrace your call.
Respectfully,
Dr. Sunday de John
The writer, Dr. Sunday de John, holds an MBA and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Nairobi, Faculty of Business and Management Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, respectively. He can be reached via drsundayalong4@gmail.com